Third Time's A Charm
by Collegekid2006
Summary: The third installment of the AFTER THE FALL series.
1. Chapter 1

SANTA BARBARA- 1990

"Henry!" Madeline scolded her husband, walking into the living room and catching him rooting through Shawn's backpack.

"What?" he grunted, looking up at her as if he didn't have a clue he was doing anything wrong.

"You've got to stop going through Shawn's things!" she chided, snatching it away from him. "You wouldn't go through a perp's house without a search warrant!"

"He's not a perp!" Henry protested. "He's my son!"

"So, a suspected felon has more right than your own son?" Madeline rolled her eyes, zipping the bag up again and dropping it on the floor. "Doesn't that strike you as just slightly twisted logic?"

"It's report card day!" Henry shot back, as if this explained everything. "I was just looking for his report card."

"Did you find it?" she asked, intrigued now.

"No…" he muttered, holding up a piece of notebook paper that had been folded in half with a single, neat crease. "But I found this."

"What is it?"

"A note."

"Wow…no wonder you're the detective in the family," Madeline laughed, rolling her eyes. "I figured it was a note, Henry. But unless it's a blackmail note, you still have no right to be going through his things. Leave him alone!"

She smacked him gently on the shoulder and started for the door, but stopped when Henry called after her.

"It's not a blackmail note," he said, unfolding it and reading it as if he were reading the list of charges. "Lauren—Do you like me? Check one—Yes or No? –Shawn."

Madeline smiled, looking at her husband curiously. "So?"

"So what the hell is he doing writing a note like that?" Henry demanded, waving it through the air.

"Obviously, he has a crush on girl."

"Since when?" Henry snorted. "He's only twelve! He still thinks girls have cooties!"

Madeline laughed, shaking her head in quiet amusement. "Henry, think back to when you were twelve…assuming you weren't just born a thirty-year-old grump. Don't you remember the first time you realized girls didn't have cooties?"

Henry squinted, trying to remember back that far. "Yeah…"

"Didn't you ever write a note to a girl?"

"No!" he snorted, the idea completely preposterous.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, turning around again and heading back into the kitchen. "No…" she agreed, snorting sarcastically. "You probably just flashed your hall monitor badge and they just swooned at your feet."

He blinked, shoving the note into his pocket as he followed her into the kitchen. "I sure as hell never asked a girl to check a box!" he muttered. "And that hall monitor badge commanded respect!"

* * *

SANTA BARBARA—2025

"Hey, Will," Shawn greeted his son as he walked into the kitchen.

Will looked up from his bowl of cereal, blinking at his father but not saying a word.

"Uh…good morning?" Shawn tried again, raising a curious eyebrow.

Still no response from Will.

Shawn slid into the chair across from him, pouring himself a bowl of cereal, still watching his son, who continued to blink mutely at him.

"Are…you okay?" he laughed.

Will nodded, his lips clamping even tighter.

"Okay…" Shawn sighed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms across his chest. "What's going on?"

Will shook his head fervently, his eyes widening as he tried to convey with just his face that absolutely nothing was wrong.

Of course, Shawn wasn't buying it for a minute.

He'd pulled the innocent act too many times with his own father.

"Did you get suspended again?" he asked.

Will shook his head.

Shawn groaned. "You didn't set the school on fire, did you? Please tell me you didn't set the school on fire!"

"No!" Will squeaked, finally cracking and talking.

Shawn was completely baffled now.

What could possibly be this bad?

"Then, what--?"

"My voice is broken!" Will burst out, his voice a several octaves higher than usual.

Shawn stared at him for a moment, fighting the impulse to laugh.

Finally, the impulse won out.

"What?" he snorted, biting it back as best he could. "Your voice is _what?_"

"Broken!" Will sobbed again, his voice cracking even more this time as he fought back the tears. "I can't fix it!"

"It's not broken, Kid," Shawn chuckled. "It's just changing."

Will's eyes grew wide in terror. "Why would I want my voice to change?" he asked, no to words spoken in the same register. "I like it the way it is!"

"It's just…part of life," Shawn shrugged, pouring some milk on his cereal. "It means you're becoming a man."

"A man?" Will repeated, his nose scrunching in distaste. "Then why do I sound like a girl?"


	2. Chapter 2

SANTA BARBARA- 1990

Shawn slid into the backseat of the car, clearing his throat and glancing awkwardly at his father in the front seat, who was glaring back at him.

"Okay," he asked, buckling his seatbelt. "Can we go? I told her we'd be there at 6."

"One second, Shawn," Henry told him, turning around in his seat. "First, we need to go over the rules."

"Rules?" Shawn blinked, running his fingers through his perfectly-mussed hair. "What rules?"

"Rule one," Henry raised a single finger. "You're twelve. Not thirteen. Not seventeen. That means you don't take your little date to see anything over PG. Period."

"PG?" Shawn protested, aghast. "Dad! We were gonna see _Die Hard 2_!"

"You're not seeing _Die Hard_, Shawn!" Henry snapped. "I'm not going to field angry calls from some girl's parents because _you_ wanted to sneak into a rated R movie!"

"Fine," Shawn sighed, rolling his eyes. "We'll see _The Rescuers Down Under…_at least I'll be able to show off my Australian accent. If she thinks I'm cool, she might not realize my dad's totally lame."

"Rule two," Henry continued, raising another finger in the air as he purposefully ignored the jab. "You will be outside the theater five minutes after the movie is over. I have things to do tonight besides wait around a parking lot."

"Okay."

"And rule three," Henry concluded. "As long as you're in _my_ car, your hands are where I can see them at all times."

"Dad!" Shawn groaned, his ears turning red. "What do you want me to do? Keep them over my head like a suspect you've got a gun on?"

"I mean it!" Henry warned sternly. "And you will maintain a sitting distance of no less than six inches."

"Six _inches?_"

"I'm not debating, Shawn."

"Fine," Shawn agreed sullenly, crossing his arms, his visions of the perfect first date going up in smoke before his very eyes. "Anything else? Do we need to submit a complete itinerary? Do you want to run a background check on her first?"

"Don't get smart," Henry muttered, turning back around and starting the car.

"Why couldn't Mom drive us?" Shawn sighed, looking out the window as they pulled out of the driveway.

"She's working late," Henry shrugged. "Believe me, Kid. This isn't my first choice, either."

They pulled up in front of the house a few minutes later.

Henry glanced in the rearview mirror, but Shawn wasn't moving even though the car had come to a complete stop.

He was completely frozen in place, his eyes wide with apprehension as he stared out the window.

"What?" Henry asked.

"Nothing," Shawn mumbled, his fingers playing absently with the seams of his blue jeans.

"Then go get her!" Henry urged, looking down at his watch. "I thought you wanted to make this movie."  
"I do…" Shawn sighed, gazing out the window again. "But…"

"But, what?"

"What am I supposed to say to her?" he asked, turning his pleading hazel eyes onto the rearview mirror. "I don't know what to say."

Henry adjusted the mirror, something like a grin tugging gently on the corners of his mouth. "You treat a woman like a person, Shawn," he said quietly. "Then a princess, then a Greek goddess, then a person again."

"What?" Shawn asked, his brow wrinkling in complete confusion.

"It's something my dad told me. The point is, you treat her like a person, Shawn. With respect. Listen to her. Figure out what she wants to talk about. It's a puzzle, just like anything else in life. You have to put the pieces together."

"Oh," Shawn nodded comprehendingly. "A puzzle…"

"But you can't solve it if you don't get out of the car and go knock on the door," Henry pointed out.

"Right," Shawn nodded, gathering his courage. He took a deep breath, then pushed the back door open and made his way up the sidewalk, still fidgeting with the seams on his pants.

Henry watched him for a moment, then groaned and rolled his eyes. "That kid's in for a world of hurt."


	3. Chapter 3

**Santa Barbara-- 2025**

Will first noticed her that morning in gym class.

Well, that wasn't quite true. He'd gone to school with Jenna Markinson his entire life…but he had never really _noticed_ her before that morning.

She was across the gym from him, dressed in short red shorts that barely stopped three inches above her knee. Her light brown hair was tied back in a loose ponytail with a blue hairband, but her bangs were still falling into her eyes. She brushed them off her forehead carelessly as she bounced her basketball and laughed with her friends while they waited for class to start.

Will's heart leaped into his throat as he watched her, not fully understanding why he was suddenly transfixed by every move she made.

Why hadn't he ever noticed her before?

And why did he suddenly have the impulse to jump off the school's roof just to impress her?

He bounced his own basketball, trying to look casusal as he subtly inched his way towards her, still not knowing why he was doing it.

He just knew he had to talk to her…

Had to be near her.

She suddenly stopped laughing and looked up at him when he was still about ten feet off. She shot him a disgusted look, and he suddenly realized he was staring at her and hadn't blinked in about three minutes.

"What are you _looking_ at?" she demanded. All her friends turned their heads, also glaring at him.

Will blinked himself out of his daze, nearly losing control of his basketball. He somehow managed to keep dribbling, however, as he cleared his throat and quickly thought of a retort. "Nothing…I'm just…playing basketball."

His voice squeaked as he spoke the words, though whether it was from embarassement or the relentless path to becoming a man his father had told him about he couldn't tell.

"What's wrong with your voice?" Jenna asked, her brow furrowing at him. "Are you sick or something?"

Will clamped his mouth shut, feeling his ears start to burn. He shook his head, refusing to say another word.

She just rolled her eyes and went back to her conversation, and Will suddenly realized he didn't exist anymore.

She had completely forgotten about him.

He opened his mouth again, searching for something witty to say that would grab her attention…

More than anything on earth, he wanted her attention. He wanted to make her laugh, to impress her…

The impulse to jump off the roof suddenly flooded over him again, though he fought it as best as he could.

He eventually shut his mouth without saying anything else and walked away, more confused than he had ever been in his young life.

Why was he suddenly convinced that she was the most beautiful girl in the entire school when he had never even really thought about her before?

How was he supposed to impress her when he couldn't even get her to notice he existed?

Did he _have_ to jump off the roof to get her to like him…?

And just where was the door that led to the roof, anyway….?


End file.
